General Interest – Mullarky Business Systemshttps://www.mbswi.com
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Business Systems Professionals
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:00:30 +0000 en-US
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1 Veterans Dayhttps://www.mbswi.com/2018/11/veterans-day/
https://www.mbswi.com/2018/11/veterans-day/#commentsMon, 05 Nov 2018 13:00:30 +0000https://www.mbswi.com/?p=1653On Veterans Day, we honor those who have served in our military. Well-meaning people often confuse Veterans Day with two other holidays. Memorial Day honors those who died in service of their country. Armed Forces Day honors those who are presently serving. If you want to “Thank A Vet”, this is the day! 2018 […]

]]>On Veterans Day, we honor those who have served in our military. Well-meaning people often confuse Veterans Day with two other holidays. Memorial Day honors those who died in service of their country. Armed Forces Day honors those who are presently serving.

If you want to “Thank A Vet”, this is the day!

2018 marks the centennial of Armistice Day – now known as Veterans Day

On November 11th, 1918, an armistice was signed ending hostilities, in effect ending World War I. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th the first commemoration of Armistice Day, honoring veterans of WWI. In 1954, when WWI “the war to end all wars”, had been followed by WWII and Korea, Congress changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all vets, not just those from WWI.

Milwaukee has a Veterans Day parade every year. This year the Milwaukee Vets Day parade is Saturday, November 10th at 11:00 am. The route goes East down Kilbourn Ave and ends up at the War Memorial on the lake. If you would like to attend and honor our veterans, details are here: https://honorourmilitary.us/

Mullarky Business Systems says thank you, to all of our American Veterans. On a personal note, we look forward to welcoming Sean Mullarky home this month from his first deployment overseas. We’re proud of you, Sean, and happy to see you coming home.

]]>https://www.mbswi.com/2018/11/veterans-day/feed/2Computer Buying Guide: Minimum Standards for Business PC Purchaseshttps://www.mbswi.com/2018/08/computer-buying-guide/
Fri, 03 Aug 2018 19:16:18 +0000https://www.mbswi.com/?p=1531Computer Buying Guide – August 2018 My friends and relatives, as well as clients, look at us as their “computer buying guide.” They often ask for advice when buying a new desktop or laptop/tablet. Here are some general guidelines that I go by: Here are the main elements to consider in a computer buying guide: […]

My friends and relatives, as well as clients, look at us as their “computer buying guide.” They often ask for advice when buying a new desktop or laptop/tablet. Here are some general guidelines that I go by:

Here are the main elements to consider in a computer buying guide:
The Processor, RAM, Storage, and Operating System

Processor: If possible, buy an i5 or i7 processor. I do not sell lesser processors in desktops or laptops anymore. At one time, they made sense because of the price gap. As I write this, an i3 processor is $70 less than an i5 in the same computer. According to cpubenchmark.net, the i3 scores a PassMark of 5493, while the i5 scores 8038. Most people reach a level of dissatisfaction with their computer’s performance and that’s when they decide to replace it. The i5 will take longer to reach that point. If you run demanding programs, like SolidWorks for instance, go for an i7. If you can’t tell which processor is faster, go to cpubenchmark.net and enter the processor model in the search box. Look at the “price performance comparison” and you’ll see a rating for CPUMark. The higher the number the better.

Mobile: If you’re shopping for a tablet, you will encounter different mobile versions of processors. These use less power to increase battery life and integrate more functions than a desktop processor. To compare them, again use cpubenchmark.net. As I write this, one of the Atom x5 processors scored 1001 CPUMarks. That can be fine for a tablet, depending on what you’re doing.

RAM: A basic computer often comes with 4GB RAM. I would recommend 8GB RAM, and that is currently my standard. You can add memory to any decent laptop or desktop, so if a computer you’re looking at only has 4GB, it’s not a deal-breaker. Another module can be added at the time of purchase or down the road.

HP ProBook450G5

Storage (Hard Drive): My standard is now 256GB solid-state drives.
A solid-state drive is much faster than a hard drive and can make the whole computer seem faster. Entry-level SSD systems will have a SATA SSD that connects to the motherboard using the hard drive’s interface. The SSD itself is still much faster than a hard drive, but the SATA interface limits performance. Because of this, manufacturers have introduced SSD’s that connect to a plug on the motherboard. These are M.2 devices. If your motherboard supports it, go this route. Note that I mentioned a 256GB SSD. This is 1/4 the capacity of a commonplace hard drive. Larger SSD’s are available, but the price goes up quickly. Over time, larger SSD’s will become more affordable.

Intel 660P SSD Drive – M.2 Form Factor

Operating System: For home use, Windows 10 Home is just fine. In a business environment, you need Windows 10 Professional.

What about a Mac? I do not sell or service Macs. I like them, though, in a home environment. They can be used in a business as well, although most business software is written for PCs.

By the way…consider using Mullarky Business Systems not just as a “computer buying guide” – rather, consider us for your actual computer purchases. We can get many computers – Hewlett Packard PCs and Laptops, for example – at a competitive price. When we get it, we can install the anti-malware and system updates you need to keep your new computer headache-free.

]]>Facebook Privacy Settingshttps://www.mbswi.com/2015/10/facebook-privacy-settings/
https://www.mbswi.com/2015/10/facebook-privacy-settings/#commentsWed, 21 Oct 2015 18:41:53 +0000http://www.mbswi.com/?p=1075The classic Facebook privacy hoax made a comeback recently. While posting some “declaration of privacy” doesn’t do diddly, there are some steps you should take to be relatively safe. If you really want to keep your information private, DON’T join Facebook! In fact, don’t use e-mail either, but that’s another story. Facebook Privacy Settings in detail: […]

]]>The classic Facebook privacy hoax made a comeback recently. While posting some “declaration of privacy” doesn’t do diddly, there are some steps you should take to be relatively safe. If you really want to keep your information private, DON’T join Facebook! In fact, don’t use e-mail either, but that’s another story.

Facebook Privacy Settings in detail:

Ok, let’s say you want to use Facebook, but want to limit what strangers can see.

First, in the top title bar, click your name. Now, at the bottom of your cover photo, click on the … button.

Click “View As…” and you’ll see what the “public” sees. In other words, people who are neither friends, nor friends of friends. You might be surprised what’s here – I was! Especially since my privacy setting is “Friends”. My account has been around a long time, though, and older posts were viewable.

To fix some of this, go back to the title bar, and click the down arrow. Click Settings. On the left, click Privacy.

Set “Who can see your future posts” to Friends.

If someone wants to see your posts, let them send you a friend request. I see no reason why friends of friends would need to see everything I post.

Now, click “Limit The Audience for Old Posts on Your Timeline” and click the “Limit Old Posts” button. Now, you would think that everything is fine, but you would be wrong!

Go back and look at “View As”. You should see MUCH less than you could before. But there are still posts here. In my case, they were all junk, so I just went through and deleted them. Now, when I click “View As”, it just shows my friends and profile photos.

Be aware that any time you tag someone in a photo, they can see that photo. So can their friends.

]]>https://www.mbswi.com/2015/10/facebook-privacy-settings/feed/1Spruce Up Windows With These Free Windows Themes and Backgroundshttps://www.mbswi.com/2015/06/spruce-up-windows-with-these-free-windows-themes-and-backgrounds/
https://www.mbswi.com/2015/06/spruce-up-windows-with-these-free-windows-themes-and-backgrounds/#commentsFri, 12 Jun 2015 18:21:33 +0000http://www.mbswi.com/?p=1019Free Windows Themes the Right Way No deep technical jargon in this post, I promise. As you roam around the office, you’ll see the same Windows backgrounds on everybody’s computer. If I had a nickel for every time I saw the scene with the palm trees on the little island… Why not give yourself something […]

As you roam around the office, you’ll see the same Windows backgrounds on everybody’s computer. If I had a nickel for every time I saw the scene with the palm trees on the little island…

Why not give yourself something to look at that’s a little different from everyone else?

Go here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/themes and download any of the free windows themes you like. Or just download a free background if you like. These are free windows themes, and you can be confident that they are virus-free as well.

Warning: The wrong way to get Free Windows Themes

Please do not Google “Free Backgrounds” or “Free Windows Themes” and go whereever it leads you! This is a common way to pick up Malware, and nobody wants that (except the black hat hackers)!

]]>https://www.mbswi.com/2014/12/merry-christmas/feed/1iPhone Tipshttps://www.mbswi.com/2014/09/iphone-tips/
Sat, 20 Sep 2014 15:24:33 +0000http://www.mbswi.com/?p=558iPhone Tips The web is full of this kind of stuff, but this article had some really useful things in it. Two of my favorites: When typing, at the end of a sentence, just hit space twice. It will automatically put in a period, a space and turn caps on for the next sentence. In […]

iPhone Tips – Resources

Often, your best bet is to ask a friend. Zero in with a specific search on Google or YouTube with a search for your specific question, or for an “introduction to using the iPhone xxx” where xxx = your iPhone model number.

Be security minded in your searches.

iPhone Tips Chart found in a google images search for iPhone tips, okay for commercial use without modifications

You’ll find it very helpful to learn how to organize your Apps, including making “folders” or “holders” for Apps when you have a lot of similar apps you’d like to group together.

YouTube searches for iPhone Tips are useful because of the video “how-to” that you get. It usually takes two minutes or less to find a good answer for iPhone tips and tools.

Finally, check out iTunes for a free app that introduces you to your iPhone.

All of the information about iPhone tips here applies equally well to figuring out other phones. As far as that goes, there’s probably a YouTube video for changing a belt in your car’s engine, training your pet and giving someone a haircut. The answers are out there…you just need to search for them.

]]>Time to Say Goodbye to Sprint?https://www.mbswi.com/2013/05/time-to-say-goodbye-to-sprint/
Tue, 28 May 2013 19:31:02 +0000http://www.mbswi.com/?p=402I’m a pretty patient guy. For all of last year, I waited for Sprint to announce when Milwaukee would be getting 4G service. After all, I have a 4G phone I bought from them a couple years ago. Milwaukee doesn’t even SHOW UP on Sprint’s LTE schedule. Not a good sign. I don’t understand how […]

]]>I’m a pretty patient guy. For all of last year, I waited for Sprint to announce when Milwaukee would be getting 4G service. After all, I have a 4G phone I bought from them a couple years ago. Milwaukee doesn’t even SHOW UP on Sprint’s LTE schedule. Not a good sign. I don’t understand how they could fall so far behind their competition.

So, the search begins for a plan that I can live with. The attraction to Sprint in the first place was the truly unlimited data, phone, and text usage. If I can find that with another provider, and have 4G in addition, the move is on!

Those of you in the Milwaukee, Waukesha and Jefferson Counties area, who are you with and what are your thoughts?